Vehicle shifters have been developed wherein the shift lever extends through an opening in the console trim plate, the opening permitting a three axis pivoting of the shifter. In other words, the shifter lever is shifted not only forwardly and rearwardly, but also sideways to the right and left. To permit such shifting action, it has been proposed that the opening be made circular with a rigid semi-spherical boot attached to the shift lever so as to substantially and continuously cover the circular opening regardless of whether the shift lever is shifted forwardly, rearwardly or sideways. However, this has created some problems due to various tolerances in the building of the shifter, the console, and various other components. That is, it has not been possible to center the circular opening of the console trim plate with the semi-spherical shifter boot. The result has been a differing gap along the entire periphery of the circular opening. From an aesthetic viewpoint, such differences in the gap are unacceptable and thereby rendering the use of a shifting mechanism having a shift lever with a rigid boot unmarketable.